A free application management and reporting platform that helps district leaders evaluate the effectiveness of various education apps debuted its public beta version at the SXSWedu conference last week in Austin.

CatchOn delivers real-time data on which apps are being used, how often and where to help keep track of technology investments, according to its website. It measures the financial impact of apps by analyzing district data, revealing the percentage of the budget per app and comparing it with the consumption across an entire district. According to a news release, the platform addresses the education app “sprawl” and helps districts and schools invest wisely, inform training, improve usage and spot trends.

Image Credit: CatchOn.

Key features include:

Dashboard: Streamlines data in an easy-to-read format to quickly see which apps are used or favored most;

App Profiles: Offers more insight into each app a district uses, ranking usage and providing other data to help users easily compare tools; and

Reports: Enables district leaders to filter, sort and compare apps with similar tags. The reports quantify usage with ROI information.

“In an environment that is oversaturated with applications, portals and services, CatchOn puts our district’s technology use in perspective,” said Jim Peterson, technology director at Bloomington School District 87 in Illinois, in the news release. “We finally have actual evidence when making difficult decisions about technology purchases.”

The platform works on Chromebooks, PCs and desktops, as well as iPads and other tablets. District administrators can register for the free public beta on the CatchOn site.

Update on March 15: It’s free for a 60-day trial. The current trial is closed, but another trial will be starting in spring and districts can sign up for the waitlist online.

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